


warm me up

by ShowMeAHero



Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Intimacy, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:54:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29294016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeAHero/pseuds/ShowMeAHero
Summary: “You’ve never had an issue with my hand before,” Rhys points out, before Vaughn can even finish. “I know it’s… strange. I know that it’s not like—”“You know that’s not what it is,” Vaughn assures him.
Relationships: Rhys/Vaughn (Borderlands)
Kudos: 9





	warm me up

**Author's Note:**

> okay so fair warning i know NOTHING about borderlands and truly know nothing about these characters, this was a commission for [rhys](https://twitter.com/cmpnyman)!

Vaughn isn’t sure what he’s expecting when Rhys touches his face, but it’s not the touch of cold metal.

“Fuck!” Vaughn spits, jerking backwards from the touch. Rhys looks almost hurt, for a moment, before he schools his expression into something more placid and emotionless, something calmer. “I didn’t  _ mean  _ fuck, that wasn’t—”

“You’ve never had an issue with my hand before,” Rhys points out, before Vaughn can even finish. “I know it’s… strange. I know that it’s not like—”

“You know that’s not what it is,” Vaughn assures him. A chill had gone down his spine the second that cold metal touched his skin, but now, inexplicably, he finds himself drawn to it all over again. Watching the way Rhys handles himself, watching how he handles weapons with that hand — he’s always known how skilled he is, but it’s daunting and thrilling, all at once, to be in such close quarters.

And they  _ are  _ in close quarters. They’re in Vaughn’s own personal space, on the edge of his bed, but Vaughn still feels the itch to get closer. This thing between the two of them, it’s new, and it’s delicate, and it’s so  _ good,  _ Vaughn doesn’t want to risk it.

He wants even less, though, for Rhys to think his touch is unwanted.

“You’re just— It’s just your hand,” Vaughn explains lamely. Rhys furrows his brow, some of that dark hair falling into his face. Vaughn can’t help but reach up and sweep the hair back, stroking his fingers through it, tucking locks of it behind his ears to keep it back from his eyes.

“What about my hand?” Rhys asks, softer this time. Less aggressive, less fearful.

“I was expecting it to feel warm, I guess,” Vaughn confesses. “Like a—”

He almost starts to say  _ like a real hand,  _ but he changes his mind. It looks like Rhys fills it in, and he starts to pull back, but Vaughn reels him back in all over again.

“Like your other hand,” Vaughn amends. “I expected it to feel a little different than it does, is all. New things are  _ good,  _ I  _ like  _ feeling new things. Don’t you?”

Rhys smiles a little bit, but he still seems hesitant, for a moment. “Does it feel… I don’t know. Does it feel bad?”

“Does it feel  _ bad?”  _ Vaughn demands. Rhys starts to smile a little bit as Vaughn continues, “Hell,  _ no,  _ it doesn’t feel  _ bad,  _ you dingus. I like it a  _ lot.”  _ He shuffles a little bit closer on the mattress, just at the foot of his bed. He tells him, “In case you didn’t notice, I’m actually kind of obsessed with you.”

“Oh, are you?” Rhys asks. Vaughn shrugs, playing at nonchalant, but he sees that Rhys is hesitantly starting to lift his hand again, and he doesn’t want to scare him off.

“I am,” Vaughn admits. Rhys’ fingertips gently touch the edge of his jaw, and he doesn’t move this time, even though his touch is still colder than anticipated. Those chilled metal fingers glide along his cheek until his entire hand is pressed firmly to his skin. To Vaughn’s surprise, the metal starts to catch his heat and hold it, warming up the longer it remains pressed against him.

He must make a soft sound, because Rhys raises an eyebrow at him, those mismatched eyes blazing through Vaughn’s.

“Don’t stop,” Vaughn tells him. Rhys doesn’t; he follows Vaughn’s instructions, vague though they are, and lets his fingers glide up along Vaughn’s face. They displace his glasses before sliding up under them; Vaughn appreciates being allowed to keep his vision, but he doesn’t appreciate the barriers between them. He reaches up and removes his own glasses so they can push in closer, abandoning them on the mattress behind them.

Instead of holding his glasses, he reaches up to wrap his fingers around Rhys’ cold metal wrist. Everywhere he touches starts warming up quickly underneath his fingers, heat catching and lighting up all over like a program sweeping a virus through his veins. It blazes with sightless heat, and Vaughn pulls his arm closer to kiss his palm, to drag his mouth down the length of his fingers.

“Vaughn,” Rhys chokes out, staring hard at him when Vaughn lifts his head.

“I can’t help it,” Vaughn insists to him. “I can’t, I told you.”

“You don’t have to—”

“This isn’t a  _ have to,”  _ Vaughn reminds him, assures him. “I  _ promise  _ you that I know, I don’t  _ have  _ to do this.” Vaughn drags Rhys’ hand in again, kisses the center of his palm firmly before he drags Rhys’ face up, meets his eyes. “I  _ want  _ to do this.” He leans in and kisses the corner of his mouth. When they separate, he asks, quietly, “Do  _ you  _ want this?”

“Of course I do,” Rhys tells him. He kisses Vaughn back, promises, “Of course I do, of course I want you. You’re my best friend—”

“That doesn’t mean you have to—”

“No, I mean it,” Rhys says, more firmly this time, confident. He lets his hands snake behind Vaughn’s head to tangle in his hair, holding them both close in place. “I want you.”

“You’ve got me,” Vaughn says with a grin. Rhys is only just starting to return the smile when Vaughn closes the distance between them, sealing their promise with another kiss, then another. When Rhys separates them again, Vaughn runs his hand down from his shoulder to his wrist, and he feels warm all over.

“How’s that feel?” Rhys asks.

“You’re  _ hot,”  _ Vaughn promises him, and Rhys laughs, letting Vaughn tug him in again.

**Author's Note:**

> You can (and should!) comment to chat with me, or talk with me about this fic, on Twitter at [@nicole__mello](https://twitter.com/nicole__mello) and/or on Tumblr at [andillwriteyouatragedy](http://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/).


End file.
